Homeless people face stressful circumstances influencing drug consumption, mental health, and sleep disorders. We performed an interdisciplinary study involving psychometric, polysomnographic, and ethnographic records to relate stress, psychiatric disorders, drug consumption, and sleep in ten people (four women, M = 32 y/o) living on the streets of Mexico City. Toluene-based inhalant dependence and suicidality were the more common psychiatric disorders among participants. They also presented sleep fragmentation; some manifested insomnia or sleep restriction, whereas others displayed extended rapid-eye movement sleep latencies associated with depression or inhalant consumption. Inhalants are used to improve mood, strengthen social bonds, and induce either sleep or alertness during the night. Inter-individual distinctions may be related to differential levels of intoxication, stress perception, backgrounds, and abilities to live and sleep on the street. Sleep restriction seems to be the more common factor, which may enhance the negative consequences of street situation.
Keywords: Depression; Homeless; Inhalants; Sleep disorders; Stress; Toluene.
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